Look Out For… Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard

“This is no normal mythos rip off, but a sleek and stylish novel full of clever dialogue and original twists.”

Daniel Carter used to be a homicide detective, but his last case–the hunt for a serial killer–went wrong in strange ways and soured the job for him. Now he’s a private investigator trying to live a quiet life. Strangeness, however, has not finished with him. First he inherits a book-store in Providence from someone he’s never heard of, along with an indignant bookseller who doesn’t want a new boss. She’s Emily Lovecraft, the last known descendant of H.P. Lovecraft, the writer from Providence who told tales of the Great Old Ones and the Elder Gods, creatures and entities beyond the understanding of man. Then people start dying in impossible ways, and while Carter doesn’t want to be involved, but he’s beginning to suspect that someone else wants him to be. As he reluctantly investigates, he discovers that Lovecraft’s tales were more than just fiction, and he must accept another unexpected, and far more unwanted inheritance.

Why We’re Excited About This Book: Jonathan L. Howard’s previous books have combined genre tropes with a sometimes dark sense of humour to great effect. Now in Carter & Lovecraft we have his take on the Cthulhu mythos. Daniel Carter is a private eye part Phillip Marlowe part Dirk Gently, and an unexpected inheritance lures him into a plot involving baffling murders, a weird book store (in both senses), strange creepy fish-men and not least a descendent of one H.P. Lovecraft himself…

This is no normal mythos rip off, rather a sleek and stylish twenty-first century novel, full of clever dialogue and original twists on the material. Yet despite the surface trappings the darkness and fear of the best Lovecraftian work is still present…

Reportedly the first in a new series, Carter & Lovecraft looks like a great start.

Carter & Lovecraft is released on the 20th October from Thomas Dunn books.

 

Look Out For… Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell

“Campbell’s talents shine as brightly as ever in his new novel.”

It’s Ray’s and Sandra’s first family holiday in Greece, on the newly developed island of Vasilema. The family weren’t to know that the skies are cloudier above the island than anywhere else in Greece, and they’re mostly intrigued by the local eccentricities and customs–the lack of mirrors, the outsize beach umbrellas, the saint’s day celebrated with an odd nocturnal ritual. Only why are there islanders who seem to follow the family wherever they go? Why do Sandra and the teenage grandchildren have strangely similar dreams? “I was in this huge place with no light and I didn’t want to see. Something sounded… huge.” And has Sandra been granted a wish she didn’t even know she made? Before their holiday is over, some of the family may learn more than they can bear about the secret that keeps the island alive…

Why We’re Excited About This Book: Does Ramsey Campbell’s work really need any introduction? One of the most acclaimed and influential horror authors of the last fifty years, his talents shine as brightly as ever in his new novel Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach.

In some ways it’s a more conventional setup than usual for Campbell, telling of a ‘normal’ family on holiday to an unnamed Greek island who are menaced by an elusive threat… As ever, it’s Campbell’s distinctive execution that really matters: the stylistic dexterity, the black comedy, the linguistic confusion and misunderstandings that emphasise how isolated we can be even when surrounded by others. Campbell excels at portraying characters who don’t realise the plots they are caught in until too late; we as a reader can only watch as they move unknowingly towards their fate. Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach is another Campbell must read for anyone interested in British horror.

Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach is being officially launched at Fantasycon 2015 in Nottingham.

Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach is available to pre-order now from PS Publishing.

JAMES EVERINGTON